Rockies acquire Murton in exchange for Wimberly

The Rockies continued adding to their outfield depth this offseason, acquiring Matt Murton from the A’s in exchange for speedy infielder Corey Wimberly.

Wimberly got squeezed out with the presence of Eric Young Jr. and Chris Nelson, both of whom will receive long looks in spring training. Murton has bounced around a bit. The 27-year-old’s arrival leaves the Rockies at a full 40-man roster entering spring training.

Murton, once a Chicago Cub, has a .288 lifetime average with 28 home runs and 106 RBIs in 317 games. He will be in the mix for a reserve outfield spot along with Ian Stewart, Carlos Gonzalez and Dan Ortmeier among others. Murton was flipped to Oakland last July as part of the Rich Harden trade.

Wimberly, 25, was a sixth-round pick by Colorado in the 2005 draft. He owns a career .312 average in the minors and led Double-A with 58 stolen bases last season.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.